This invention relates to a wire stripper, and more particularly to a device which can simply and easily strip wire using a simplified mechanism with easy operation.
Most electrical wire includes one or a plurality of electrically conductive strands which are surrounded by an insulative coating. In order to make electrical interconnections with the wire, it is necessary to strip the insulation off the wire thereby revealing the electrical strands therebeneath. Numerous wire strippers are readily available for achieving this purpose. Most of the available wire strippers are of the scissors or pliers type, having criss crossed handles and jaws.
The wire is inserted into the jaws and the handles are clamped together thereby shearing and cutting the insulation whereby the insulation portion can be slid off the wire thereby exposing the wire therebeneath.
Numerous other types of wire strippers are readily available which operate to either shear, slice, or otherwise sever the insulation whereby the insulation can be slid off the wire to uncover the electrical strands therebeneath. One of the problems with most prior art devices concerns its cumbersomeness. Especially with those of the scissors type, the space required for storing and holding the wire stripper is fairly large. Accordingly, a considerable amount of space must be provided when storing the wire stripper on a shelf and a corresponding space must be provided when transporting the device. This is especially awkward for field men who must carry the wire stripper, along with numerous other tools, out into the field. The size of the regular wire stripper often makes it cumbersome to carry about with ease.
Still another problem of most prior art wire strippers concerns the lack of capability of replacing the blades. After continued usage, the blades tend to become dull and the cutting of the insulation and stripping of the wire becomes more difficult. However, most wire strippers, especially of the pliers type, have the blades permanently connected or integrally formed with the body of the wire stripper itself and when the blades get dull they must either be sharpened or the entire wire stripper must be replaced.